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Feel The Burns By Joanne
Hello Ladies, and a huge welcome back to the first session of Dynamic Meladies in 2017.
Don’t worry about the title of this Blog, it did not involve any extreme physical exertion, muscle fatigue, sweating, or pounding the pavements in order to achieve weight loss following our festive indulgences.
My voice rested for 2 weeks, I returned to Saturday morning singing yesterday. Not sure what I would be able to produce vocally due to voice inactivity (OK those who know me know that it is in fact an impossibility). The singing group, led by Sheena and Karen, was taken through our usual mild physical, breathing and vocal warm-ups.
If, like me, you watched (or remember lusting over) Harrison Ford (I know it’s not just me!) playing Indiana Jones, in any of the three films shown on TV between Christmas and New Year, particularly Temple of Doom, you may recall the sacrificial chant of followers of Mola Ram, then you may be able to imagine the
“HUM” “OH” “AH”, “HUM” “OH” “AH”, “HUM” “OH” “AH”, “HUM” “OH” “AH”,
sounds we produced as we climbed the scales.
Fortunately there were no human sacrifices or burning flames. Instead what I experienced was a change in vibrations in my body as we climbed the scales, from a rich deep sound in my chest area, rising to my throat, then a much higher pitch vibrating around my head; a beautiful resonance of sound.
Then we moved on to singing, and as we Scots will be celebrating the birth of Robert Burns on 25thJanuary it seems apt that we sing some of the lyrics written all those 200+ years ago. In order to make it relevant to ilka bodie, Sheena and Karen had carefully selected a couple of songs we either knew or to which we could be sympathetic; Ye Banks and Braes and The Deil’s Awa’ Wi’ The Exciseman.
I know not everyone is a fan of Burns, often because we were forced to learn it at school, or because we can no longer easily translate the Auld Scots into something which we can either understand or relate. I’m not going to try to convince you to love or loathe Burns’ poetry, suffice to say that what we sang on Saturday was quite folky, beautiful and fun.
Ye Banks and Braes is an appropriate song for a group of ladies, as it is one of the few poems Burns wrote from the perspective of a woman, a woman dumped by her lover, “departed never to return”, and this time I don’t believe Burns was the dumper.
On a slightly more upbeat note, The Deil’s Awa’, is a much more celebratory song, in which people celebrate the Devil taking away the village taxman and allowing the villagers to pay no taxes (wishful thinking), and make untaxed alcohol. It certainly made a few of us dance a jig (we saw you Rhona).
I look forward to next Saturday when Sheena and Karen will introduce George Harrison’s Taxman to The Deil’s Awa’, I have no idea how this will happen, but as I have the utmost faith and confidence in the arrangements both have produced previously – then it can only sound wonderful.
I look forward to singing with you!
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